EAPI Usage and Description

Helpers

• doman Language Support

  doman automatically detects language codes and puts it in the appropriate directory.

  doman foo.1
  # will go into /usr/share/man/man1/foo.1
  doman foo.lang.1
  # will go into /usr/share/man/lang/man1/foo.1 with EAPI=2
  		

Metadata

• Blocker Atoms

  • New Meaning for Old Syntax

    Blocker atoms which use the previously existing !atom syntax now have a slightly different meaning. These blocker atoms indicate that conflicting packages may be temporarily installed simultaneously. When temporary simultaneous installation of conflicting packages occurs, the installation of a newer package may overwrite any colliding files that belong to an older package which is explicitly blocked. When such file collisions occur, the colliding files cease to belong to the older package, and they remain installed after the older package is eventually uninstalled. The older package is uninstalled only after any newer blocking packages have been merged on top of it.

  • New !!atom Syntax

    A new !!atom syntax is now supported, for use in special cases for which temporary simultaneous installation of conflicting packages should not be allowed. If a given package happens to be blocked by a mixture of atoms consisting of both the !atom and !!atom syntaxes, the !!atom syntax takes precedence over the !atom syntax.

• USE Dependencies

  It is possible to depend on USE-flags of packages.

  Examples:

  • foo[bar] means that package foo must have USE-flag bar enabled
  • foo[bar,baz] means that the package foo must have both the bar and baz USE-flags enabled
  • foo[-bar,baz] means that the package foo must have the bar USE-flag disabled and baz USE-flag enabled
  • foo[bar?] means bar? ( foo[bar] ) !bar? ( foo )
  • foo[!bar?] means bar? ( foo ) !bar? ( foo[-bar] )
  • foo[bar=] means bar? ( foo[bar] ) !bar? ( foo[-bar] )
  • foo[!bar=] means bar? ( foo[-bar] ) !bar? ( foo[bar] )

• Customization of Output File Names in SRC_URI

  A new syntax is supported which allows customization of the output file name for a given URI. In order to customize the output file name, a given URI should be followed by a "->" operator which, in turn, should be followed by the desired output file name. As usual, all tokens, including the operator and output file name, should be separated by whitespace.

  Example:

  SRC_URI="http://dl.google.com/earth/client/GE4/release_4_3/GoogleEarthLinux.bin
                          -> GoogleEarthLinux-${PV}.bin"
  		

Phases

• New src_prepare Phase Function

  A new src_prepare function is called after the src_unpack function, with cwd initially set to $S.

• New src_configure Phase Function

  The configure portion of the src_compile function has been split into a separate function which is named src_configure. The src_configure function is called in-between the src_prepare and src_compile functions.

  The default src_configure and src_compile functions in EAPI=2:

  src_configure() {
  	if [[ -x ${ECONF_SOURCE:-.}/configure ]] ; then
  		econf
  	fi
  }
  
  src_compile() {
  	if [ -f Makefile ] || [ -f GNUmakefile ] || [ -f makefile ] ; then
  		emake || die "emake failed"
  	fi
  }
  		

• Execution Order of Phase Functions

  • pkg_setup
  • src_unpack
  • src_prepare
  • src_configure
  • src_compile
  • src_test
  • src_install
  • pkg_preinst
  • pkg_postinst
  • pkg_prerm
  • pkg_postrm

• Default Phase Functions

  The default pkg_nofetch and src_* phase functions are now accessible via a function having a name that begins with default_ and ends with the respective phase function name. For example, a call to a function with the name default_src_compile is equivalent to a call to the default src_compile implementation.

  The default phase functions are:

  • default_pkg_nofetch
  • default_src_unpack
  • default_src_prepare
  • default_src_configure
  • default_src_compile
  • default_src_test

• Default Phase Function Alias

  A function named "default" is redefined for each phase so that it will call the default_* function corresponding to the current phase. For example, a call to the function named "default" during the src_compile phase is equivalent to a call to the function named default_src_compile.

Helpers

• utilities die on their own, unless the nonfatal command is used

  Ebuild functions all die on their own in EAPI=4. In case that this non-zero exit status is expected, you may call nonfatal function [arg,...].

  Example:

  EAPI=1
  ...
  src_install() {
  	emake DESTDIR="${D}" install || die "make install failed"
  	dodoc ChangeLog README
  }
  		

  EAPI=4
  ...
  src_install() {
  	emake DESTDIR="${D}" install
  	nonfatal dodoc ChangeLog README
  }
  		

• recursive dodoc

  dodoc supports -r as the first argument, which leads dodoc to install the specified documentation directory recursively into the docdir.

  Example:

  src_install() {
  	default
  	dodoc ChangeLog
  	dodoc -r doc/
  }
  		

• doins symlink supports

  Within EAPI=4, doins supports installing symlinks as symlinks when installing recursively. For older EAPIs, the symlink behaviour is undefined.

• dosed and dohard are banned

  The dosed and dohard commands are banned in this EAPI.

• econf adds --disable-dependency-tracking

  Within EAPI=4, econf adds --disable-dependency-tracking to the default configure options.

• controllable compression via docompress

  To compress files in the destination-folder ${D}, the docompress command may be used in src_install. To control which items should be compressed and which shouldn't be compressed, you may include or exclude directories or plain files. The default inclusion list contains:

  • /usr/share/doc
  • /usr/share/info
  • /usr/share/man
  The default exclusion list contains:
  • /usr/share/doc/${PF}/html
  When a directory is in- or excluded, all files and directories in the given directories shall be added to the corresponding list. If a file is in- or excluded, the file shall be added to the corresponding list (exclusion is stronger than inclusion — if a file is in both lists, the inclusion will be ignored).

  If the first argument of docompress is -x, the items specified will be added to the exclusion list, otherwise they will be added to the inclusion list.

  Note: When docompress is called, it is not required that the paths specified as its arguments are pointing to existing files or directories. However, if a file still doesn't exist when src_install has completed, it will be ignored with a warning.

Metadata

• use dependencies default

  In addition to the use-deps specified in EAPI=2, a (+) or (-) may be added to the use-dep to define a default-value in case the use-flag does not exist in the given package. The (+) means that this use-flag is assumed to be enabled, (-) the opposite.

  Example:

  DEPEND="
  	>=dev-libs/boost-1.32[boost(+)]
  	sys-devel/gcc[openmp(-)]"
  			

Phases

• new pkg_pretend phase

  The new pkg_pretend phase can be used to do sanity checks before the main phase function sequence is run (meaning this phase is executed after the package manager has calculated the dependencies and before installing them). This phase typically checks for a kernel configuration and may eerror and die when needed.

  Important: There is no guarantee that the ebuild's dependencies are installed when this phase is called.
  Important: As pkg_pretend is not called in the main phase function sequence, environment saving is not guaranteed.

  Example:

  # Copyright 1999-2016 Gentoo Foundation
  # Distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License v2
  # $Id$
  
  EAPI=4
  inherit linux-info
  ...
  
  CONFIG_CHECK="FUSE_FS"
  ERROR_FUSE_FS="this is an unrealistic testcase..."
  
  pkg_pretend() {
  	if use kernel_linux ; then
  		if [[ -e "${ROOT}"/usr/src/linux/.config ]] ; then
  			if kernel_is lt 2 6 30 ; then
  				check_extra_config
  			fi
  		fi
  	fi
  }
  		

• default src_install is no longer a no-op

  The default src_install function in EAPI=4:

  src_install() {
  	if [[ -f Makefile ]] || [[ -f GNUmakefile]] || [[ -f makefile ]] ; then
  		emake DESTDIR="${D}" install
  	fi
  
  	if ! declare -p DOCS >/dev/null 2>&1 ; then
  		local d
  		for d in README* ChangeLog AUTHORS NEWS TODO CHANGES THANKS BUGS \
  				FAQ CREDITS CHANGELOG ; do
  			[[ -s "${d}" ]] && dodoc "${d}"
  		done
  	elif declare -p DOCS | grep -q "^declare -a " ; then
  		dodoc "${DOCS[@]}"
  	else
  		dodoc ${DOCS}
  	fi
  }
  		

• pkg_info for non-installed packages

  The pkg_info function may also be called by the package manager for non-installed packages. Ebuild writers should note that dependencies may not be available.

Variables

• REQUIRED_USE

  The REQUIRED_USE variable contains a list of assertions that must be met by the configuration of USE flags to be valid for this ebuild. In order to be matched, a USE flag in a terminal element must be enabled (or disabled if it has an exclamation mark prefix).

  Essentially, REQUIRED_USE is an analogue of DEPEND style syntax. For example, to state that some combination is forbidden, i.e. "if foo is set, bar must be unset":

  REQUIRED_USE="foo? ( !bar )"
  		

  To state "if foo is set, then at least one of bar, baz, and quux must be activated":

  REQUIRED_USE="foo? ( || ( bar baz quux ) )"
  		

  To state "exactly one of foo, bar, or baz must be set, but not several":

  REQUIRED_USE="^^ ( foo bar baz )"
  		

  Note that the last relationship is that of an Exclusive OR (XOR). While an XOR could be formed from usual DEPEND syntax, a specific ^^ operator has been added for this case.

  Finally, to state "at least one of foo, bar, or baz must be set":

  REQUIRED_USE="|| ( foo bar baz )"
  		

  Important: See section conflicting-use-flags for when (and when not) to use REQUIRED_USE.

• REPLACING_VERSIONS and REPLACED_BY_VERSION

  The REPLACING_VERSIONS variable contains a whitespace-separated list of all versions (PVR) of this package that are being replaced (uninstalled or overwritten) as a result of this install. It is a list, not a single optional value, to handle pathological cases such as installing foo-2:2 to replace foo-2:1 and foo-3:2.

  REPLACING_VERSIONS is valid in pkg_preinst and pkg_postinst. In addition, it may be available in pkg_pretend and pkg_setup, although you should take care to handle binary package creation and installation correctly when using it in these phases.

  The REPLACED_BY_VERSION variable contains the single version (PVR) of this package that is replacing us, if we are being uninstalled as part of an install, or an empty string otherwise. It is valid in pkg_prerm and pkg_postrm.

• MERGE_TYPE

  The MERGE_TYPE variable contains the type of package that is being merged. Possible values are:

  source

  if building and installing a package from source,

  binary

  if installing a binary package,

  buildonly

  if building a binary package without installing it.

• DOCS

  The DOCS variable is an array or whitespace-separated list of documentation files for the default src_install function to install using dodoc. If undefined, a reasonable default list is used. See the default src_install function above.

• AA and KV variables are gone

  The AA and KV variables are no longer set in EAPI=4.

• no more RDEPEND="${DEPEND}"

  When RDEPEND is unset, there will no longer be an automatic assignment of RDEPEND="${DEPEND}".

Metadata

• REQUIRED_USE supports new at-most-one-of operator

  The new at-most-one-of operator consists of the string '??', and is satisfied if zero or one (but no more) of its child elements is matched.

• SLOT supports optional "sub-slot" part

  The SLOT variable may contain an optional sub-slot part that follows the regular slot and is delimited by a / character. The sub-slot must be a valid slot name. The sub-slot is used to represent cases in which an upgrade to a new version of a package with a different sub-slot may require dependent packages to be rebuilt. When the sub-slot part is omitted from the SLOT definition, the package is considered to have an implicit sub-slot which is equal to the regular slot.

• Slot operators and sub-slots in dependencies

  A slot dependency may contain an optional sub-slot part that follows the regular slot and is delimited by a / character. This can be useful for packages installing pre-built binaries that require a library with a specific soname version which corresponds to the sub-slot. For example:

  RDEPEND="dev-libs/foo:0/3"
  		

  Dependency atoms can use slot operators to clarify what should happen if the slot and/or sub-slot of a runtime dependency changes:

  • :* Indicates that any slot value is acceptable. In addition, for runtime dependencies, indicates that the package specifying the dependency will not break if the package matching the dependency is replaced by a different matching package with a different slot and/or sub-slot.
  • := Indicates that any slot value is acceptable. In addition, for runtime dependencies, indicates that the package specifying the dependency will break unless there is available a package matching the dependency and whose slot and sub-slot are equal to the slot and sub-slot of the best installed version that had matched this dependency at the time when the package specifying this dependency had been installed.
  • :slot= Indicates that only a specific slot value is acceptable, and otherwise behaves identically to the := operator.
    Note: use :slot/subslot without a = to depend on a specific slot and sub-slot pair; it's a syntax error to use :slot/subslot= in an ebuild.

  The :slot dependency syntax continues to behave like in EAPI=4 or earlier, i.e. it indicates that only the specific slot value is acceptable, but the package will not break when the version matching the runtime dependency is replaced by a version with a different sub-slot.

  For example:

  RDEPEND="dev-libs/foo:2=
  	>=dev-libs/bar-0.9:=
  	media-gfx/baz:*
  	x11-misc/wombat:0"
  		

  means that the package should be rebuilt when foo:2 or >=bar-0.9 are upgraded to versions with different subslots, but that changes in subslots of baz or wombat:0 should be ignored.

Profiles

• Profile stable USE forcing and masking

  In profile directories with an EAPI supporting stable masking, new USE configuration files are supported: use.stable.mask, use.stable.force, package.use.stable.mask and package.use.stable.force. These files behave similarly to previously supported USE configuration files, except that they only influence packages that are merged due to a stable keyword.

Helpers

• econf adds --disable-silent-rules

  This option will automatically be passed if --disable-silent-rules occurs in the output of configure --help.

• new* commands can read from standard input

  Standard input is read when the first parameter is - (a hyphen).

• New option --host-root for {has,best}_version

  This option --host-root will cause the query to apply to the host root instead of ROOT.

• New doheader helper function

  Installs the given header files into /usr/include/. If option -r is specified, descends recursively into any directories given.

• New usex helper function

  USAGE: usex <USE flag> [true output] [false output] [true suffix] [false suffix]
  DESCRIPTION:
  If USE flag is set, echo [true output][true suffix] (defaults to "yes"),
   otherwise echo [false output][false suffix] (defaults to "no").
  		

Phases

• src_test supports parallel tests

  Unlike older EAPIs, the default src_test implementation will not pass the -j1 option to emake.

Variables

• EBUILD_PHASE_FUNC

  During execution of an ebuild phase function (such as pkg_setup or src_unpack), the EBUILD_PHASE_FUNC variable will contain the name of the phase function that is currently executing.

Bash version

Ebuilds can use features of Bash version 4.2 (was 3.2 before).

Ebuild environment

• Locale settings

  Behaviour of case modification and collation order (LC_CTYPE and LC_COLLATE) are guaranteed to be the same as in the C locale, as far as characters in the ASCII range are concerned.

• failglob enabled

  For EAPI=6, the failglob option of bash is set in the global scope of ebuilds. If set, failed pattern matches during filename expansion result in an error when the ebuild is being sourced.

Phases

• Update default implementation of src_prepare

  This phase is no longer a no-op, it supports applying patches via the PATCHES variable and applying user patches via eapply_user. The default src_prepare looks like this:

  src_prepare() {
  	if declare -p PATCHES | grep -q "^declare -a "; then
  		[[ -n ${PATCHES[@]} ]] && eapply "${PATCHES[@]}"
  	else
  		[[ -n ${PATCHES} ]] && eapply ${PATCHES}
  	fi
  	eapply_user
  }
  			

• New src_install Phase Function

  This phase uses the new einstalldocs function for installation of documentation. The default src_install looks like this:

  src_install() {
  	if [[ -f Makefile ]] || [[ -f GNUmakefile ]] || [[ -f makefile ]]; then
  		emake DESTDIR="${D}" install
  	fi
  	einstalldocs
  }
  			

Helpers

• einstall banned

  The einstall helper has been banned with EAPI=6.

• nonfatal die

  When die or assert are called under the nonfatal command and with the -n option, they will not abort the build process but return with an error.

• eapply support

  The eapply command is a simplified substitute for epatch (from eutils.eclass), implemented in the package manager. The patches from its file or directory arguments are applied using patch -p1, but it accepts patch(1) options from GNU patch to override default behavior.

• eapply_user support

  The eapply_user command permits the package manager to apply user-provided patches. It must be called from every src_prepare function.

  Note:eapply_user doesn't need to be called explicitly when default src_prepare is called.

• econf adds --docdir and --htmldir

  Options --docdir and --htmldir are passed to configure, in addition to the existing options.

• in_iuse support

  The in_iuse function returns true if the given parameter is available in the ebuilds USE.

• unpack changes

  • unpack supports relative paths without leading ./ (unpack foo/bar.tar.gz is valid as relative path).

  • unpack supports .txz (xz compressed tarball).

  • unpack matches filename extensions case-insensitively.

• einstalldocs support

  The einstalldocs function will install the files specified by the DOCS variable (or a default set of files if DOCS is unset) and by the HTML_DOCS variable.

• get_libdir support

  The get_libdir command outputs the lib* directory basename suitable for the current ABI.